THE penultimate Euro 2024 round of 16 clash will take place on Tuesday evening between the Netherlands and Romania. The match will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, which is the perfect backdrop for such an important fixture.
The Netherlands come into the game after a shock defeat to Austria, which dropped them to third place in Group D.
While that would usually have meant a match against one of the tournament favourites, they have lucked out in a way as Romania surprised everyone by topping Group E.
It's not as if Romania were particularly brilliant in Group E. They accumulated four points (the same amount as the Netherlands) and came top courtesy of scoring more goals across their three games than Belgium.
How the bookies view it: Netherlands are heavy favourites
Despite Romania being Group E winners, they are considered rank outsiders for this round of 16 clash. The Netherlands are priced as 4/9 favourites with Betfred while Romania are priced as 15/2 outsiders. If you think the match will go the distance to extra time, then the draw is priced at 100/30.
Recent head-to-head: Dutch dominance
The Netherlands and Romania have played each other 13 times in history and the Dutch have come out on top more often than not. Romania have only ever beaten the Netherlands once, with that victory coming back in 2007 in Euro 2008 qualifying. The Netherlands have won the four most recent clashes by an aggregate score of 13-1.
Players to watch: Gakpo could be the key
From an attacking point of view, Cody Gakpo has been the Netherlands' most important player at Euro 2024. Playing from the left, Gakpo has shown that perhaps his best position is from the flanks rather than at the top of the pitch, and he has scored twice so far at the championships.
He does appear to link better with Wout Weghorst at the top of the pitch, as opposed to Memphis Depay, who is sometimes guilty of being a little greedy. It will be interesting to see whether Ronald Koeman factors that in when picking his team for the first knockout match.
For Romania, their key player could turn out to be Radu Dragusin. The Tottenham defender has shown his class at times already and he will have to be at the very top of his game to keep the likes of Gakpo, Simons, Depay, and Malen quiet.
Predicted lineups
As mentioned, Koeman could spring a surprise by giving Wout Weghorst a start so the Dutch have a target man to play off. Romania will be forced into one change as left-back, Nicușor Bancu received his second yellow card of the tournament on matchday three of the group stages.
Romania: Nita – Ratiu, Dragusin, Burca, Nedelcearu – Marin, Hagi, Marin, Stanciu, Coman – Dragus
Netherlands: Verbruggen – Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake – Reijnders, Wijknaldum, Simons – Gakpo, Weghorst, Malen
Anything else catch the eye?
Both of these have only failed to score in one of their three matches at the tournament so far while they have conceded a combined seven goals between them. Therefore, the both teams to score market at 6/5 with Betfred looks particularly appealing.
This Euro 2024 match between Romania and Netherlands will be played on Jul 2, 2024 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Romania vs Netherlands prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
